Should cities regulate e-cigarettes? Question of the week

They don’t have the cancer-causing tar and nasty-smelling smoke that sticks to your clothes for weeks, but electronic cigarettes with flavors such as mojito mint are getting scrutinized just like their tobacco counterparts.

An alternative for many smokers trying to quit, the devices look like cigarettes but are actually battery-operated sticks that can be filled with liquid nicotine and other additives that are converted into an inhalable vapor that mimics the taste of tobacco. Some have hailed the vapor-emitting devices as a healthy alternative to smoking, a guilt-free indulgence.

Introduced into the U.S. market more than five years ago, they have become wildly popular, spawning a cottage industry of vaping shops. They are all over bars, clubs and everywhere cigarettes were decades ago. Sales this year are expected to hit $1 billion and keep rising.

At the end of this month the FDA is set to issue proposed regulations on advertising, ingredients and sale of e-cigarettes to minors. Meantime, cities have been scrambling to keep up with the trend. Last month, the city of Seal Beach placed a one-year moratorium on shops specializing in the vapor cigarette.

But is it going too far? There’s little scientific study on the effects of vaping, as inhaling these cigarettes is termed, much less the impact of secondhand vapor smoke.

What do you think?

Should cities regulate e-cigarettes like regular cigarettes, or do they deserve special consideration that recognize them as a preferable alternative? And do children need to be protected from their sale before they become addicted to these products?

Send your thoughts to opinion@langnews.com. Include your full name, and your city or community of residence. Provide a daytime phone number for verification. If you prefer, use the comments section that accompanies this article online. As many responses as possible will be published Sunday.